Rola Wala’s legendary naan rolls and rice bowls are finally available in Manchester, as the Indian street food brand prepares to open on Deansgate.
Leeds’ cult favourite takeaway will open the doors to its first site in our city at last on Thursday 9 November.
And to celebrate, Rola Wala is footing the bill for everyone’s lunch on its opening day. No catch.
Between 11am and 3pm on Thursday, the much-loved restaurant will be handing out free lunches from its menu, which includes foot-long naan rolls, rice bowls, and naan tacos.
They’ll even give out black cards, giving you free naan rolls for an entire year, to the first five people in the queue.
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The build-your-own concept allows customers to choose their filling (from butter chicken curry, Rola’s chicken tikka, Nagaland slow-cooked pulled lamb, sweet potato saag and chickpea masala) then add in salads, pickles and sauces.
Sides include masala fries, poppadom chips, and more naans.
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Rola Wala, which literally translates to ‘man that rolls’ in Hindi, has taken over the old Players site in Manchester city centre, wedged in next to KFC.
Founded by Mark Wright (no, not that one) as a street food stall in London, it quickly expanded to open its first restaurant in Leeds‘ Trinity Kitchen that same year.
Click or swipe through the gallery below to see inside Rola Wala Manchester
Pulled lamb naan wraps inside Rola WalaA chickpea masala rice bowl from Rola WalaRola Wala offers build-your-own lunchesFounder Mark Wright outside Rola Wala ManchesterPoppadom crisps from Rola Wala Naan wrap and rice bowl at Rola WalaCredit: The Manc Group
The brand’s ‘buy-one-give-one’ incentive means that they donate one meal to a hungry child in the developing world for every naan roll sold – so far, that’s totally 850,000 meals delivered by Rola Wala.
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Rola Wala will have late-night opening hours until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays, as well as selling food through Deliveroo.
Meals start from just £5.95 and the majority come in at less than 500 calories.
Rola Wala even has Hollywood credentials, appearing in Burnt, starring Bradley Cooper.
Rita Ora and Saturday Kitchen dubbed it ‘London’s Best Wrap’, and it even made a cameo appearance on Jamie Oliver’s Friday Night Feasts.
To claim your free lunch, simply head to Rola Wala on Deansgate in Manchester between 11am and 3pm on Thursday 9 November. As long you’re in the queue by 3pm, you’ll get one.
Huge bakery chain Gail’s confirms move to Prestwich – but spells village’s name wrong in signs
Daisy Jackson
After months of swirling rumours, bakery group Gail’s has finally confirmed it’s moving to Prestwich – but locals have spotted a glaring error at the first hurdle.
The popular artisan bakery will be moving onto Bury New Road, right in the heart of the suburb and directly opposite the new Rudy’s pizzeria.
Prestwich locals have been hearing whispers of a Gail’s arriving for a few months, and finally the London-founded cafe has stuck up signs to confirm it’s on the way.
But the sign contains one crucial mistake – it’s spelled Prestwich wrong.
The red window displays now read ‘Hello Preswich. We’ll be baking here soon’.
One local messaged Gail’s to point out the error and to say it’s ‘not a great first impression for the locals…’.
Gail’s has since confirmed it’s in the process of fixing the signs.
The arrival of both Gail’s and Rudy’s has already caused a stir in Prestwich, which has always been fiercely independent and has only a handful of chains within it (Greggs and Costa are perched by the tram stop).
In fact, one local business-owner shared a moving statement about his concerns for the future of local businesses just a few weeks ago.
Gail’s has confirmed it’s opening a bakery in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
First formed in the early 1990s as a wholesale-only operation, Gail’s opened its first cafe on Hampstead High Street in 2005.
Today the brand has more than 100 sites spread across London, Oxford, Brighton and further afield, and is known more as a customer-facing cafe and bakery.
It’s famed for its freshly-baked loaves, cinnamon buns, ham and cheese croissants and coffees, and is likely to go down a storm in Prestwich.
But the signs have been causing a bit of a stir in the wrong way this weekend – in a local Facebook group, one person commented: “Not locals who own it then.”
Another described it as an ‘epic fail’.
And one person said: “Oh the DRAMA of it all.”
Someone else joked: “I cannot wait for Gais to come to Preswich.”
Hot Blobs – Retro drink makes return to Manchester Christmas Markets, but what is it?
Daisy Jackson
It’s funny how we all turn a blind eye to the temperature outside when it comes to the Christmas Markets.
At a time of year where should probably all be hibernating inside, droves of us instead head out to brave the elements all in the name of the festivities.
Of course, the Manchester Christmas Markets sell all sorts of wares to take the edge off, and we’re not just talking about the stalls selling woollen mittens everywhere.
Our favourite winter warmers tend to take the form of a tray of piping hot garlic potatoes, or a mug of hot chocolate, or another boozy beverage that’s massively underrated.
The drink in question is a Hot Blob, which is listed on the menu at the Piccadilly Gardens markets as ‘legendary’.
A bold claim, but a lot of long-time Manc residents will understand why.
The Hot Blob is a jaw-clenchingly sweet concoction served piping hot at the Manchester Christmas Market, similar to a hot toddy.
It’s made with Australian fortified white wine, lemon, sugar, and boiling water.
Hot Blobs – Retro drink makes return to Manchester Christmas Markets, but what is it? Credit: The Manc Group
The drink was first invented by Yates, that well-known pub chain, which started life as Yates’s Wine Lodge up the road in Oldham.
According to Pubs of Manchester, the Hot Blob has a tendency to ‘speed up drunkenness to a young drinker’.
These days, it’s pretty rare to come across one on a menu, but back in 1990s it was a staple in a few pubs around town.
There even used to be a ‘Blob Shop’ on High Street, run by local legend Ged Ford (now in charge of the equally legendary Millstone pub), which found itself in a state of utter carnage when the IRA bomb went off.
The long-lost institution specialised in ‘cheap wine, cheap beer, and plenty of blobs’.
The old Yates Blob Shop on High Street, Manchester. Credit: deltrems@flickr
Ged sold 6,000 a week.
And while the drink may have fallen out of favour since then, there are still healthy numbers being sold at this time of year, even if they are a damn sight more expensive than they were in the 1990s (£6 a pop, plus a glass deposit).
Anyway. If you’re sick to the back teeth of the endless gluhwein being peddled across the markets, make a beeline for Manchester Winter Ale House at Piccadilly Gardens, where you can find Hot Blobs as well as boozy Vimto and cask ales.
The Manchester Christmas Markets officially end on 22 December.
Daisy Jackson -
7th November 2023 
